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Griffey reaches milestone as Reds roll

Jun 10, 2008 - 4:21 AM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. finally got a milestone out of the way. Now, he can set his sights on advancing a spot on the all-time home run list.

Griffey belted his 600th career home run and Paul Bako recorded his first career multi-homer performance as the Cincinnati Reds took a commanding early lead Monday and went on to post a 9-4 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Homerless in his previous seven games, Griffey deposited a 3-1 offering from lefthander Mark Hendrickson (7-4) into the seats in right field with one on in the first inning to become the sixth player in major league history to reach the 600-homer plateau, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa.

"I've been part of history a lot of ways," Hendrickson said. "It's no surprise. I went through Barry's stretch last year. For me, I'm going to pitch to him, I'm going to make quality pitches. I'm sure I'll get a lot of attention for it."

"I got a call about 10 days ago from Willie and then the next day from Hank," Griffey said. "They said to keep going and have some fun. I think that helped me a little bit, having those guys make a call to me to try to settle some of the nerves down."

The 16,003 in attendance gave Griffey a standing ovation following the home run. The veteran emerged from the dugout and tipped his helmet to acknowledge the show of appreciation.

"I didn't really think about it running around the bases, just because I don't think I touched any of the bases," Griffey said. "I sort of floated around and it didn't hit me until I waved to my family and saw (my son) Trey."

The blast - estimated at 413 feet - was the slugger's seventh of the season and 202nd as a member of the Reds, putting him one behind Eric Davis for seventh place on the franchise list.

"My dad hit 152 home runs, and that's who I wanted to be like," Griffey said. "I came up as a second hitter and he was a second hitter. Get the guys over and let the big guys bring them in. That's what I thought I would be. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be hitting 200, 300, or 600 home runs."

The 38-year-old Griffey trails Sosa by nine homers for fifth all time.

"The historian in you, the purist, says that's a good feat," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I just wished he had done it against somebody else."

Bako swatted a three-run homer in the second frame and Brandon Phillips added a solo shot in the third that opened a 6-0 lead for the Reds, who earned a split of the four-game series. The light-hitting Bako completed his career effort with a two-run blast in the ninth.

Despite his own accomplishment, Bako had no problem playing second fiddle to Griffey.

"That's fine with me," Bako said. "I'm just happy to get an opportunity to play a decent bit."

Edinson Volquez (9-2) held Florida without a hit until Luis Gonzalez's leadoff single in the fifth. The 24-year-old left after allowing three runs and three hits while walking five in six frames.

"I was happy for Griffey to hit (No.) 600 and I got my ninth win," Volquez said.

Volquez also struck out five in notching his fifth win in six decisions.

"All of my pitches were working in the first four innings, then I got tired in the last two innings," Volquez said. "My legs were shaking a little bit. It's hot here."

Hendrickson lasted just 2 1/3 frames, surrendering six runs - five earned - and five hits with three walks. The 6-9 southpaw struck out four but also hit a batter.

The Marlins began to mount a comeback in the fifth as Jeremy Hermida delivered a two-run single and Jorge Cantu followed with an RBI base hit to halve the deficit. Mike Jacobs led off the eighth with his 14th homer of the season, drawing Florida within 6-4, but Joey Votto lifted a sacrifice fly and Bako hit his sixth blast in the ninth to provide the final margin.